A sell-out AAMI Park crowd will turn up on Saturday night expecting Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero to be the pivotal figure in one of the A-League's most resonant fixtures, Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC.

But if this game goes according to the form guide - and no bookies would have Melbourne anything other than favourites - then it's likely that a figure in a darker shade of blue will be the most influential man on the pitch.

And if there was a market framed as to which Victory player would have the biggest impact in such a high-pressure, emotional arena, there's a good chance that Mark Milligan would be at the shortest price.

At 27, Milligan is right at the top of his game and certainly his coach Ange Postecoglou believes he is a critical part of the championship jigsaw he is assembling at AAMI Park.

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Milligan made his name as a tough-tackling defender earlier in his career, playing either at right-back or centre-half for a succession of clubs (including Sydney FC) and the Socceroos, with whom he went to two World Cups in 2006 and 2010 although he did not see any game time.

But, says Postecoglou, Milligan's all-round abilities make him capable of much more.

''He's a very strong character with a real belief in himself and he tends to lift people around him. I was going to use him as a centre-back when I first signed him, but he's such a dominant influence in the middle of the park that I feel now we might be robbing ourselves if we use him there,'' Postecoglou says.

''I think he's actually the quintessential box to box midfielder.'' High praise indeed coming from the league's most successful coach, and Milligan hopes to use the A-League to kick-start his career and put himself in the Socceroos' shop window. ''It's nice to have [Socceroos coach] Holger [Osieck] watching every week and you get picked for the national team on merit,'' he says.